Kneecap has spoken out after it was confirmed rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh, better known as Mo Chara, would not face a new terror trial after judges at the High Court rejected a Crown Prosecution Service appeal against the decision to throw out the case on Wednesday. Two judges at the High Court upheld the decision and dismissed the CPS appeal.
The musician was accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation, at a gig at O2 Forum in Kentish Town back in November 2024.
In a statement provided through his lawyers, Liam Og O hAnnaidh said after the decision: “I owe eternal gratitude to my legal team, who left no stone unturned in ensuring justice was upheld.
“This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about ‘terrorism’, a word used by the British Government to discredit people you oppress both in Ireland and across the world.
“It was always about Palestine and about what happens if you dare to speak up. About what happens if you can reach large groups of people and expose their hypocrisy. I will not be silent. Kneecap will not be silent.”
The charge was dropped in September last year, but in January, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) appealed again st the decision at the High Court, with O hAnnaidh opposing the appeal.
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Judge Goldspring had agreed with O hAnnaidh’s lawyers that prosecutors needed to seek the Attorney General’s permission to charge the rapper before informing him on May 21 that he would be charged with a terror offence.
This permission was sought and given the following day, which the court heard meant the charge fell outside the six-month time frame in which criminal charges against a defendant can be brought.
Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Linden, said in Wednesday’s decision that “the judge was right to hold that he had no jurisdiction to try any summary-only offence alleged to have been committed on that date”.
He said: “The respondent has not been tried for his alleged conduct on September 21 2025 and will not be tried. He has not been convicted, and he has not been acquitted.”
In the 13-page decision, Lord Justice Edis said that their decision “turned on a very narrow and technical legal issue and has nothing to do with whether the respondent committed the offence set out in the charge”.
Kneecap’s solicitor Darragh Mackin, from Phoenix Law, said in a statement: “In times of political pressure and provocation, the rule of law must prevail. The rule of law cannot be clearer – the prosecution of Mo Chara was unlawful from its very inception.
“This prosecution was a legally laughable witch-hunt. A witch-hunt that was born at Coachella, cultivated in Westminster, comes to an end in West Belfast.
“There are better ways to spend British pounds than pointless prosecutions and pursuing expensive appeals. Today’s decision brings this expensive circus to an end.”
On Monday, the Irish rap trio, O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, posted on Instagram to call a press conference on Wednesday after the ruling.
Writing in Irish, the band wrote “Kneecap fogra”, meaning “Kneecap notice”. The post read: “This Wednesday at 2pm the British High Court will deliver its judgement in the appeal made by the Director of Public Prosecutions against the decision of the Chief Magistrate court judge who dismissed the case against Mo Chara.
“At 2.15 on Wednesday (11th March) we invite media to come to Conway Mill in West Belfast for a press conference. We would love to also see supporters outside the Mill. We are forever grateful for the immense support we have received throughout the world during this entire witch-hunt, especially the thousands of people who gathered in London.
“We have always said we would fight them in their own courts and we would win… Let’s see if we have.” The group ended their post with “free Palestine”, and “free the six counties”.
The band were formed in Belfast and released their first single in 2017. The group, known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English, have released songs include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and The Recap.
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They hit headlines in April last year when footage emerged that appeared to show a band member saying “Kill your local MP” at one gig and and “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah” at another. Kneecap have since apologised to the families of murdered MPs and said they have “never supported” Hamas or Hezbollah. They were also investigated over their set at Glastonbury Festival in June, but Avon and Somerset Police said they would be taking no further action in July.
Shortly after the CPS announced they would be appealing the case, the band said on social media: “Once again, this is a massive waste of taxpayers’ money, of police time, of court time.
“Once again, there are endless news reports about Mo Chara, about Kneecap, but we are NOT the story. We will fight you in your court again. We will win again.”
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